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Cobi Jones
Cobi N'Gai Jones (born June 16, 1970) is an American former soccer player and analyst for the Los Angeles Galaxy on Time Warner Cable SportsNet. He can also be seen on Fox Sports, BeIN Sports, the Pac-12 Network and as the host of the Totally Football Show: American Edition. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1994 until 2007, starting his career in England with Premier League club Coventry City, before playing for Brazilian side Vasco da Gama. He is one of a significant group of American national team stars who returned from overseas to aid the then new Major League Soccer in 1996, beginning an 11-year spell with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Jones is the all-time leader in caps for the United States national team and a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Following retirement, he served as an assistant coach with the LA Galaxy for two seasons. In 2017, Cobi joined City Of Angels FC as Director Of Football. Youth Jones grew up in Southern California. He played soccer with AYSO starting at age 5 in Westlake Village, California. After graduating from Westlake High School, Jones emerged as a talented player in college, making the UCLA soccer team as a non-scholarship player, ultimately becoming one of its most successful soccer-playing graduates. While attending UCLA, Jones was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, an international fraternity. Club career After playing in the 1994 World Cup held in the United States, Jones signed with English team Coventry City of the Premier League, where he spent one season. Jones trained with German club FC Köln of the Bundesliga before joining Brazilian club Vasco da Gama after impressive performances with the U.S. national team in the 1995 Copa America. After only a few months in Brazil, Jones signed with the new Los Angeles Galaxy franchise for Major League Soccer's inaugural season. Jones's best year with the Galaxy came in 1998, where he was second in MLS with 32 points (19 goals and 13 assists), was named to the MLS Best XI, and was also named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year. In 2005, he became the last player in MLS to remain with his original team since 1996. Jones announced on March 19, 2007, that he would retire following the season. Jones played his last game with the Galaxy on October 21, 2007. The club retired his number 13 making it the first number retired in MLS history. The number was later assigned to Jermaine Jones. Jones finished his Galaxy career with 306 appearances and 70 goals. International career Jones is currently the all-time leader of the United States in appearances, with 164 caps as of the end of 2004 (scoring 15 goals). He played for the team in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cups. He was named to the best XI at the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup and won with the national team at the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He also represented his country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. After playing in the 1995 Copa America, he also became a popular player in Latin America because the nickname used by an Argentine commentator to call him: "Escobillón" ("swab"), due to his bleached dreadlock hairstyle and the similar pronunciation of his name, Is Cobi Jones, and the word "escobillón". Coaching career On November 9, 2007, Jones was announced as an assistant coach with the Galaxy under Ruud Gullit. After Gullit's resignation on August 11, 2008, Jones served as the interim head coach until the Galaxy hired Jones's former U.S. national team head coach Bruce Arena. In January 2011, Jones left the Galaxy to serve as associate director of soccer with the New York Cosmos and was with the club through 2012. Personal life On September 12, 2009, Jones married Kim Reese. Reese, a music consultant and former music executive at New Line Cinema, met Jones in 2003 and began dating him in 2004. The couple was married at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara in Carlsbad, California. Cobi and Kim have two sons, Cayden and Cai. On March 11, 2011, Cobi Jones was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.